The Master was the second son of Mr.Zhang Xing Gong of Jinling. He was born in the year wu yin of the Chongzhen reign period and had his head shaved at the age of twenty-three. In reading the Records of Great Men, he came to the passage about the butcher with the broad forehead. The Records said, "All you have to do is let go, and that's it. What need is there to say that you are one of the thousand Buddhas?" He suddenly felt a lightness of body and mind. He spent the summer at Wanshan, where, upon hearing the striking of the boards, he felt light and refreshed all over, as if he had just taken a bath.

The saying about the donkey grazing in the backyard was like a huge boulder pressing down on his chest. He returned to the Venerable Yi at Qixia. While he was attending to the Venerable Yi, who had just descended from the Dharma platform, a monk inquired about "one's original face before one's parents give birth to one," and the Venerable Yi promptly beat the monk. The Master right then experienced a release of the pressure in his chest.

The Venerable Yi entrusted the Great Dharma to him. He initially propagated the Dharma at Mengbi in Fujian Province. In the summer of the year yi chou, he left Huxin (Heart of the Lake) Monastery and returned to Bao'en (Repaying Kindness) Monastery in Jianzhou. That autumn, he sat down and left the world. A stupa was built on the west side of the monastery. Four people received the Dharma from him.

Commentary:
This Dhyana Master is a Patriarch of the seventy-second gen­eration in the Caodong sect. His name is Tongqiu, and his style name is Dhyana Master Chuanli. The Master was the second son of Mr. Zhang Xing Gong of Jinling. In Chinese, certain characters may be used in a name to designate that the person is the first, second, third, or fourth son in the family, namely, Meng, Zhong, Shu, and Ji. Meng is the first-born, Zhong is the second- born, Shu is the third-born, and Ji is the fourth-born. The man Su Chin was probably the fourth son, because he was also known as Su Ji Zi.

He was born in the year wu yin of the Chongzhen reign period and had his head shaved at the age of twenty-three. That is, he left the home life when he was twenty-three. After leaving home, he read Buddhist books. In reading the Records of Great Men, he came to the passage about the butcher with the broad forehead. A wide brow or forehead is an indication of intelligence. You may have noticed that smart people generally have broad foreheads. Bright individuals are not petty or narrow-minded. A small or narrow forehead area may indicate that a person does not have a very good temperament. Basically, a butcher should not be that way, but he manifested such an appearance. It was unusual for a butcher to have a broad forehead.

Anyway, the Records of Great Men said, "Ail you have to do is let go, and that's it." Just let go, and it'll be fine. Who is this talking about? It's referring to the butcher's son. If he can let go of things, it will be very good. Then there won't be anything at all. "What need is there to say that you are one of the thousand Buddhas? Why must you say that you are included among the thousand Buddhas?"

Upon reading that passage in the book, he suddenly felt a lightness of body and mind. His body and mind suddenly felt very light and comfortable. He spent the summer retreat at Wanshan, where, upon hearing the striking of the boards, "Pa, pa, pa," in the morning or evening, he felt light and refreshed all over, as if he had just taken a bath. He felt as if he were floating, with nothing to weigh him down. It was also as if he had just come out from a bath. The saying about the donkey grazing in the backyard waslike a huge boulder pressing down on his chest. Not understanding that sentence, he felt afflicted. He couldn't figure it out, and it was as if his mind were full of grass. In fact, it was worse than grass; he felt as if his mind was filled with a heavy boulder. Thereupon, he returned to the study with the Venerable Da Yi at Mount Qixia. He served as an attendant for the Venerable Yi. While he was attending to the Venerable Yi,who had just descended from the Dharma platform after speaking Dharma, a monk inquired about "one's original facebefore one's parents give birth to one." The Venerable Yi must have spoken about that topic in his lecture, and when the monk asked about it, the Venerable Yi promptly beat the monk. TheMaster right then experienced a release of the pressure inhis chest. Although someone else received the beating, he gained benefit from it, and the great rock in his heart melted away like water.